Talk:Purity
I think the background information needs to changed as the "black oil" mythology DVD only contains four of the ten episodes featuring the black oil. --Mulder 19:33, 3 May 2006 (UTC) Name Change I think the title of this page should actually be Black Oil, as opposed to Purity--I can't actually recall the Syndicate ever referring to the virus as Purity, aside from the Purity Control projects. On the other hand, it was in The Red and the Black that, at a meeting with fellow Syndicate members, the Well-Manicured Man said something like, "... to avoid infection by the black oil..." --TheSmokingManX 07:31, 28 December 2006 (UTC) * In "Two Fathers", Cassandra Spender tells Mulder and Scully about the aliens' plan for colonization and says: "They're taking over the universe, they're infecting all other lifeforms with a black substance called Purity. It's their life force, it's what they're made of." So I think the title of the page should remain as "Purity" since "black oil" already links here. -Colonist 17:23, 28 December 2006 (UTC) ::That's true, but I think basing the page off of what Cassandra Spender said as opposed to a member of the Syndicate doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The only reason I suggest is that black oil seems more like the true name, and the name that's used much more frequently as opposed to Purity. :::Don't make the mistake of thinking that the viewer's perspective from episodes is necessarily the correct one! Even if "black oil" has been used more often than "Purity" in The X-Files, it doesn't necessarily mean that "black oil" is the right name. In fact, it makes sense that "black oil" is used more frequently in the series, as the episodes are seen from the perspectives of Mulder and Scully, who are obviously not members of the Syndicate and whose knowledge of the entire conspiracy is, remember, more ignorant than that of the conspirators themselves! The name "black oil" is mostly used by members of the Syndicate when talking to Mulder and Scully, as that is how they know the substance, but the conspirators are otherwise inclined to use the name "Purity". Also, the fact that the substance has been named so directly, by Cassandra Spender in the above quote, must be taken into account, as there is no such direct naming of the substance as "black oil". Also, the honesty of the speaker's identity should also be taken into account - in my opinion, Cassandra Spender is, probably, less likely to lie about such a trivial matter as a member of the Syndicate! Don't you agree? --Mulder 23:54, 28 December 2006 (UTC) ::::You're right, but you didn't take into account the fact that the event I was referring to--where the Well-Manicured Man stated that the faceless rebels mutilated their faces in order to avoid infection by the black oil--was in a meeting with fellow Syndicate members. --TheSmokingManX 06:13, 29 December 2006 (UTC) :::::I thought I'd bump this as well, as I feel I was correct in my original assertion that "Black Oil" is the proper name. --TheSmokingManX 04:08, 3 April 2007 (UTC) :::I disagree that there is a "proper" name, only ones that have been used in various circumstances. Did any member of the Syndicate ever refer to the substance as "black oil"? --Mulder 12:14, 4 April 2007 (UTC) ::::Yes, there were Syndicate members that used the term "black oil." I mistakenly said it was the Well-Manicured Man in a previous post on this page, but it was actually the First Elder -- he uses it twice during The Red and the Black.. Marita Covarrubias says it in One Son. Krycek, when speaking to the Well-Manicured Man, mentions it in Patient X, and the WMM knows exactly what he's referring to.--TheSmokingManX 01:59, 5 April 2007 (UTC) :::So, are we in agreeance over the proper title being "black oil?"--TheSmokingManX 04:56, 2 May 2007 (UTC) ::::I think it should remain "Purity", but perhaps the phrase "black oil" should be made more prominent in the opening lines of the article itself. It could be something like: "Purity, more commonly referred to as black oil...." for instance. - Colonist 16:23, 2 May 2007 (UTC) Abilities and Effects "People infected with the alien virus demonstrate a variety of symptoms/abilities. Some are taken over by it, indicating that it possesses some sort of intelligence and knows it's purpose." There are real life parasites which can commandeer the hosts body. Rats and mice will eat a parasite that drives them towards cats and other predators, so they will eat the host and the paraiste gains a new host. There is no evidence that the parasite is intelligent or has any motive other than self-preservation. I'm not an X-Files expert, so there may be evidence within the show that Purity/Black Oil does this, but I'm not familiar with it. TheOmnius 21:55, March 29, 2010 (UTC) :There is indeed evidence in The X-Files that the alien virus is sentient, such as when Scully says in "The Truth", "The virus ... has sentience. It can think. It has the ability to communicate..." --Mulder 01:39, March 30, 2010 (UTC) :: Ahh, there we go then. At least I knew enough to not change it. =) Thanks for your patience. TheOmnius 02:00, March 30, 2010 (UTC)